Fossils may be oldest link to great apes

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Scientists have dug up the remains of an extinct ape species
from Spain that may be the common ancestor to all living great
apes, including humans.

The 13-million-year-old Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, an
"exceptionally complete" specimen of which was found near
Barcelona, appears to be the predecessor of orang-utans,
chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and humans.

The specimen was probably male, weighed about 35 kilograms, and
from its tooth shape appears to have been a fruit eater. The
skeleton was discovered at a new paleontological site near
Barcelona.

Five researchers from the Miguel Crusafont Institute of
Paleontology published their discovery in this week's issue of the
journal Science. "The importance of this new fossil is that for the
first time all the key areas that define modern great apes are well
preserved," said the lead author of the paper, Salvador
Moya-Sola.

Professor Moya-Sola said the first sign of the skeleton was a
tooth, churned up by a bulldozer clearing the land for the digging.
The researchers dug and unearthed one of the most complete
skeletons found from this period, including parts of the skull, rib
cage, spine, hands and feet.

The fossil record from this time is unclear. There are several
contenders for the common ancestor of the great apes, including
Kenyapithecus and Equatorius. But the Spanish team believe the
latest specimen is the most likely contender.

Gibbons and monkeys broke from the great ape evolutionary line
earlier, so Pierolapithecus is not an ancestor of those, say the
scientists.

The human evolutionary line split from that of the chimpanzees
about 7 million years ago.